MotherA Story by Ian TitianIn this surreal story, a young boy, secluded boy meets a strange puppet man and a kind rag doll who exposes him to the truth regarding his "sweet, kind, and caring" mother.Mother
A story by: Ian titian
That
afternoon, while my mother was away at work, a man came up to knock on my door. “That’s
weird.” I thought, “Never once in my whole life has another human being knocked
on the door before.” The knocks
became louder, and louder, and it grew more frequent. “One, two, three ...” I
counted each knock that synced to my own heartbeat, my thudding, racing
heartbeat that made it seem as if my heart was going to pop out of my chest. “Hello? Is
anyone home?” Asked a voice suddenly after the eleventh knock, the knock that
nearly broke the living room door down. “Yes. Yes
there is.” I called back. My mother always told me to be honest, but I was also
very nervous since, she also told me never to talk to anyone except her. Truth be
told, this wasn’t the first time I’ve broken the rule. I’ve talked to the
voices in my room before, but still I felt nervous nonetheless. “Could you
please open the door?” Asked the person behind the door. My mother
also told me to always obey orders, and so, I obeyed. I opened the
door, though not all the way, and a weird man was standing behind it. A very
slender man wearing a black suit, white gloves stained in red, a white burlap
sack over his head with three holes, two for the eyes, and one for the mouth,
as well as a black bowler hat. “Good
afternoon little boy. May I ask, is your mother home?” Asked the man in a kind
voice. “No sir,
she’s still at work.” I answered, my whole body and face still half hidden
behind the half open door. “Oh.” Said
the man. “Please don’t be shy or scared, for I am not bad and I don’t bite. I
can’t bite. Look at me.” He added. For some reason his voice got a little shaky
and his neck twitched a couple of times. “What name
have you been given, boy?” He asked. “I don’t know
sir. My mother never gave me a name. She said I wouldn’t need it since I
wouldn’t need to ever meet anyone other than herself.” I told the man in a
timid and somewhat terrified voice. I couldn’t help it. I really was terrified
... what if mother knew I was talking to the man? I wish I wouldn’t have known
by the end of the day. “Never gave
you name? Well, that’s weird and sort of a pity too.” Said the man as he knelt
down. I wanted to
ask him his name, but couldn’t muster up enough courage to do so. “Tell you
what ... I’ll give you a gift of a name little boy, let’s see ... what about
Max? You like that name boy?” He asked kindly. I nodded. “Good. May I
come in?” Asked the man as he stood up. “Is that by
any means a command or an order mister?” I asked. “Must I let you in?” The man stood
quiet as if he was thinking for a few seconds before whispering, “Yes Max.” I nodded once
before opening the door, allowing the man to walk inside. I thought the way he
walked was kind of funny, I mean, it’s so different from the way mother walks.
His arms lightly swayed from side to side, and his steps were slow and his back
was hunched forward. He only took one step at a time. “Nice room.
Simple. I like simplicity. A simple room just like it was so long ago.” Muttered
the man in barely more than a stuttery whisper, but I heard every word. The man
was still walking around my living room strangely when he gave that comment. He
was circling the room as I saw his neck twitch a few more times. “Thank you.”
I replied. My mother always told me to say thank you when given a compliment.
Weird though, the only time she ever gave me a compliment was when I ... actually, I forgot when. “Such a nice
room and such a nice chair. Nothing’s changed” Said the man before reaching for
the chair in the middle of the room. I think it was pretty funny how stiffly he
walked towards the chair with his arms fully extended in front of him, as if he
was trying to catch something. “I’m not sure
you are allowed to sit there, mister.” I said as the man was about to sit down. “Why not?”
Asked the man as his head slowly ... very slowly turned to face me. I was quite
surprised when a thin line of red liquid suddenly poured down from the right
eye hole of the man’s sack. “W-why not?
Wh-why why not?” Asked the man stutteringly as his head and neck frantically
twitched around. “I t-thought y-you were a g-g-good b-boy Max.” “My mother
told me never to sit on that chair. She always told me she’s the only one who
is allowed to sit there, mister.” I answered. Suddenly, the
man’s frantic twitching stopped. “Oh, your
mother?” He said in a somewhat cold and distant whisper. “Yes, my
mother mister.” I answered. “The mother I love the most.” “What’s her
name again, Max? ...” Asked the man. “I don’t know
her name, mister.” I answered with a chuckle. Why would a kid ever need to
learn the name of his mother? There’s no need for that. What a silly man. The man stood
quiet for a while. “We need to
always obey our mother, don’t we mister? Surely you must understand, don’t
you?” I asked. The man was
still frozen on his about-to-sit position as he gave a very ... oh, how do I describe it ...
chilling, high pitched, blood curling laugh. It was a long laugh too. What a
weird man. I myself just stood there watching him laugh. The man’s
head twitched a few more times as he laughed, but his body didn’t even move an
inch. His body was completely frozen on the spot. Finally,
after the long laugh was over, the man said, “Close the door please.” In his
airy, spacious voice before sitting down sprawled on the floor next to the
chair. I was so
transfixed watching the man that I didn’t even realize I existed. It’s as if my
only purpose of existing was to watch the man and answer his questions. It’s as
if I was in a completely different world. But what he said brought me back to
where I was. Standing at the doorway in my house. “Yes mister.”
I said before turning around to close the door. The lamp in the middle of the
room flickered once as I did so. It caught me a little off guard. Not that it
never happened before though. The man had
his head tilted to side and was looking directly at me with those hollow holes
he had for eyes while he was still sitting cross legged on the floor. I smiled at him lightly before the lights
flickered a few times more. By which time for a few seconds the man’s face
looked, or rather felt somewhat ... scary. Even though I was pretty sure it
didn’t change. “Come sit
here Max.” Called out the man. His position was frozen once again, but his
whispery voice sounded so inviting, yet sounded so much like an order at the
same time. I had no choice. Even though I did think twice, my mother’s voice
echoed in my head, telling me once again never to disobey orders. I had to come
to the man and sit in front of him, I had no choice. I musn’t, I couldn’t disobey orders! I walked
slowly towards the man, and as I did, the lamp flickered once or twice more.
Weird, I thought. The lamp never flickered that much on a single day before.
Usually ... not even more than once or twice a week, I would count. Yes, I do
count those kinds of things. That’s the kind of thing I do in this lonely
house. “Tea?”
Offered the man as I sat down. “Yes please.”
I answered. My eyes
widened as I saw the man ooze some more red liquid, this time from the man’s
left eye hole. At the same time, he reached into his jacket and pulled out a
small plastic cup, along with a small teabag. A weird teabag though, it was
purple in color. I thought
about asking the man concerning the red lines of liquid he had oozed out of his
eyes, but I thought such a question might offend the man, and so I kept quiet. “I’ve never
seen purple tea before.” Instead I asked. The man stood
quiet. He was reaching into deeper into his jacket before pulling out a small
thermos. “You know Max
... it must feel kind of lonely here right?” Asked the man as he poured hot
water into the cup. “Yes,
sometimes.” I answered. “But then again, I have my mother and the voices in my
room to keep me company, so maybe not really.” I added after thinking about his
question for a few seconds. “Voices ...”
Muttered the man as he began dipping the teabag into the cup filled with hot
water. “You know, I was just wondering ... maybe you would like to drop by my
place sometimes. You know, to play. You’ll meet new friends.” He said. “New
friends?” I asked. I felt kind of funny inside hearing that word. Strange. “Yes, new
friends.” Repeated the man. “You know, the world is not just about your mother
and your ... friend voices. You could meet new ‘people’ you know.” He
explained. “I think so
... but mother never told me that.” I said. “My mother never wanted me to meet
new people.” The man
suddenly fell silent. His left hand was on rested on his left leg, while his
right hand was still holding the teabag. He was frozen in that position for a
few seconds, as the lamp above him flickered a few times more, before he
suddenly leaned forward, his face only a few inches from my own. His hollow,
red-liquid-stained burlap sack face seemed to have pierced into my soul at that
moment. My face started sweating and my eyes wouldn’t blink. “It’ll be
fun, Max.” Said the man. His cold breath brushed my face as he spoke. It felt
like I had just opened the refridgerator door. “Please Max, won’t you come with
me? You’ll have lots of friends there. I promise. They’re all named Max, such
as yourself.” He added as he suddenly, in a lightning fast motion, raised both
of his hands and grabbed my forearms, crunching it. I felt a cold chill down my
spine. It reminded
me of the times my mother would do the same thing to me everytime I did
something wrong. “I ... I
d-don’t know if m-mother would l-let me.” I muttered in a stuttery voice. “It’ll be
fine. I know your mother, trust me. Please trust me. I’ll talk to her later.
She won’t get mad at you.” He insisted as his grip on me got tighter. I hestitated. “This is an
order Max. Please obey it, come with me.” Ordered the man after a few seconds
of silence. “Will you?” At that point
I knew I had to obey, and so, I nodded. “Good.”
Replied the man as he slowly released his grip on me, returning to his tea
brewing position. He pulled out
a small silver spoon from the left pocket of his jacket and used it to stir his
tea. Once, twice,
thrice he stirred the tea in his cup, before raising it towards his face and
pouring it down the mouth hole of his burlap sack. Rather unsurprisingly, the
tea wet his burlap sack and poured down his chin, staining his suit. What did surprise me however, was the fact
that not only was the tea dripping from his “face”, but also from inside it, as
the liquid poured down from the bottom opening of his burlap sack, down his
neck, and onto his black suit also. It’s as if
the man had nothing inside his mask. We both fell
silent for a while before the man smashed the cup onto the floor, then stood up
with a hum as he adjusted his bowler hat. “Let’s go, Max.” He said. My mouth
opened as if a sound was about to come out, but none did. My pupils
slowly rolled up to look at the man as he loomed over me, taking a step closer.
His shoes practically touched my still seated legs. As I looked
up, it appeared that the man was looking back at my slightly terrified face.
His hollow eyes left me somewhat tranced for a few seconds before the man
reached out his right arm for me to grab. “Grab it.” He
said in barely more than a whisper. I nodded and
looked away from his burlap sack face as I extended my right hand to grab his.
To my surprise, he was rather strong, as he pulled me up with one hand and with
such ease. My body jerked before I was able to stand up properly. The man then
led me towards the door without another word. Our shoes
clapped in the silence as we walked towards the door. Above us, the lamp
flickered a few times more before we finally got out the door. Worried
thoughts were running through my mind as I stood there while the tall man
closed the door of my house behind us. My mother wouldn’t let me talk to anyone
except her, what would she do if she were to find out I was going out with a
strange stranger? Just thinking about that made me shiver and shake. The worried
thoughts going through my mind were interrupted when the man suddenly tapped on
my right shoulder. His gentle tap jolted my body for some reason, causing me to
surpress those feelings and just follow him. Of course, it
was nothing new. Surpressing my feelings was nothing new to me at all. I’m used
to it. The man led
me down the hill on which my house stood, and into the woods surrounding it. The tall,
sinister looking trees loomed over us as we walked through the woods. That was
the first time I ever set foot in there. The cold wind
was blowing gently and it sent chills down my spine as my shoes crushed some
leaves under my feet as we walked. Crunch,
crunch ... the crunching of leaves ... and the occasional gusts of wind ...
were the only sounds that were heard. I had the
feeling we were being watched for some reason. Both the tall
man and I stayed relatively quiet through the stroll. I observed the way he
walked and rather strangely, the way he walked wasn’t as strange as when he
walked around the room in my house. He kept his arms inside his pockets at all
time, and his steps were somewhat stiff, but steady nonetheless. I had the
feeling the man was thinking about something serious in his head (head?) all
the while. Suddenly, as
if to fill the quietness, words came out of my mouth, words that perhaps ... I
shouldn’t have spoken. “Sir, are you
human?” I asked before realizing what I had just said. Both of us
stopped dead on our tracks at once. The man slowly turned to look at me while I
clasped both of my hands over my mouth. He just looked at me, with the same
life-devoid expression of his stained burlap sack. Eerie silence
filled the air for a few moments before a gust of wind blew past us. “I ... don’t
know.” Answered the man simply. “I think I was once.” He said in barely more
than a pitiful whisper. I thought I caught a hint of sadness and despair in his
voice for a second there. “How old are
you Max?” He asked suddenly. “I think I’m
around twelve sir.” I answered. Also in barely more than a whisper. My mother would
always pet me on the head and smile at me during my birthdays, for as long as I
could remember. Every year on that very special occasion she would whisper into
my ear, “Your time is getting closer and closer love.” “That’s so?
Twelve years, huh? So that’s how long it has been...” Muttered the man as he
turned back to face the road and continued to walk. I followed closely behind. I didn’t
understand what he meant by that, but I kept quiet and just followed him since
I thought my mouth had spoken out of turn quite enough for the whole day. And so with
that, the eerie silence between us continued as we walked deeper and deeper
into the forest.
As we got
deeper and deeper, the weather got colder and everything grew darker and
darker. My legs were getting tired, and I rubbed my palms together before
clasping them over my mouth to warm up. “Sorry Max
...” Muttered the man suddenly. I was
confused. Really, I was. Never before in my life had anyone said that word to
me. Not once. “Sorry? For
what?” I asked. “You’re cold
and tired aren’t you? I’m sorry you have to go through all this.” Answered the
man. I didn’t know
how to respond. I really didn’t. Words weren’t an option, and so I kept quiet. “It’s just
that ... well, the real reason I brought you with me is because I’m scared.”
The man continued. “Huh?” I said
as I looked at him with a puzzled expression. “Scared of what sir?” I asked
quietly. “The voices.”
Answered the man. “It was the voice of a girl. I ...” The man didn’t finish.
Instead, and surprisingly so, he sobbed and rubbed his burlap sack with his
right hand. Again, I
didn’t know how to respond. “The voice
told me to come to your house Max. It ordered me so before it just vanished. I
couldn’t refuse of course. Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve always been
taught never to disobey any order whatsoever.” Explained the man. “This man’s a
lot like myself...” I thought in my head. “And the voice of a girl he’s talking
about, could it possibly be the same voice that occasionaly talks to me and
keeps me company in my room?”
“I called out
to the voice after it gave me that order Max. I did, I tried!” Continued the
man. “The voice ... it reminded me of ... well, it sounded just like ... her.” “Her?” I
asked in a whisper. “I called and
called, I begged the voice to come back. I begged her to tell me exactly who
she was. Could it really be her? Could it?” The man murmured before suddenly
stopping dead in his tracks. I stopped as
well of course, and saw that to our left was a stretch of land decorated with
what looked like tombstones, all cramped together like some bodies were hastily
buried there, and in front of us, stood a wooden shack, quite similar to my own
house. “Is this the
place sir?” I asked. “Is this your house? Have we finally arrived?”
The man
didn’t answer my question. He had both of his arms on his sides with his hands
clenched in a fist, and his face looking down at the ground. “Was it
really you? Why... why did you have to leave me again after only uttering that
one sentence, without a single word of greeting or farewell ... Just like you
did before ...” He muttered to himself as his body began to shake. He sounded
as if he was about to break down and cry. As I moved
closer to try and comfort him though, his shaking suddenly stopped, and he
seemed to have suddenly calmed down. “It’s been
twelve years ... I’m so lonely.” He whispered before suddenly snapping out of
his sadness. “Ah, I’m so
sorry about that Max. Let’s go inside shall we?” Said the man as he finally
looked at me. He placed his hand on my shoulder and directed me towards the
shack. A cold,
strange breeze blew out of the shack as the man opened the door. I stepped
inside and was quite bewildered by the sight. Wooden toys
and dolls of many shapes, sizes and variations lined the room, filling the
walls and floors. Some were seated on chairs, while others were just slumped on
the floor. Some were also put up on shelves, sitting neatly with their backs
against the walls. Some of the
toys were as big as an adult human being, while some others were as small as a
marionette doll. Some had masks on, some didn’t. Some had human facial features
and bodies, while some others had animal features. It really
seemed as though their blank, lusterless eyes,
glimmering under the dim lighting of the room were all fixated on me as
I scanned the room. “Max ...
these are the friends I told you about.” Said the man suddenly from behind me. “Oh ... but
are they alive though, sir?” I asked yet another question that perhaps
shouldn’t have escaped my mouth. “Well ...
yes, they are.” Answered the man. “Only, they’re still dormant. They’re not
ready yet. That’s what she told me.” I gulped
hearing that. “She? You mean the voice you mentioned earlier?” I asked. “No no ...”
Answered the man. “Please Max, don’t remind me of that ...” He whispered in a
somewhat shaky voice as he walked towards one of the windows in the room. He
put aside one of the dolls that was previously seated on the windowsill and
looked outside. “It’s just so
lonely here Max ... by the way, earlier you also mentioned that you’ve heard
voices in your room before. What do these ‘voices’ say to you boy?” He asked.
“They keep me
company sir, I love the voices. They’re always so kind to me. They would always
comfort me whenever mother does something ... bad ... to me. The voices also told me to never tell mother I talk to
them, or ... her.” I answered, though after a few seconds of silence I added,
“Even so, you’re the first man I’ve actually met and seen to keep me
company sir. I’m happy.” The man stood
quiet for a while, still looking out the window before he finally muttered in a
serious yet quiet voice, “So that’s where you’ve been ...” He then turned away
from the window and walked towards me slowly before crouching in front of me. It was weird
though as for a moment there, even though his hollow face was still covered
completely by the stained burlap sack, I felt ... the warmth of a smile behind
it as he tilted his head to the left, only inches away from my own. “I’m glad if she’s
really been keeping you company then.” He then said with a friendly and warm
chuckle as he reached for my head and scruffled my hair. I couldn’t
help but smile and laugh lightly as well. Suddenly
though, the comfort of the moment was taken away when heavy footsteps were
heard approaching the door. Footsteps
that I feared I knew all too well. “Excuse me
for a moment.” Said the man as he stood up and walked towards the door. Before
he got there though, heavy knocks were heard. Heavy knocks that shook the door
and almost the whole shack. Strangely,
all the motionless ‘dormant’ toys in the room suddenly seemed to have had a
thick vibe of fearful anticipation around them, as their glittering eyes seemed
to have all suddenly been turned towards the door. KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK. Louder and
louder the knocks grew, and closer and closer the man walked towards the door. Finally, as
the man opened the door, my heart seemed to have dropped a thousand feet. My
eyes grew wide, and I nearly choked on my own saliva as I tried to gulp. I felt
a wave of deathly chill breeze enter my veins as I saw who was at the door. Mother. Mother was
carrying a shovel and was about to say something to the man but stopped
abruptly when her eyes suddenly noticed me. I think she
was just as shocked as I was, for her terrified gaze was fixated on me. Her
mouth was wide open and she stood frozen on the spot for a few seconds before
she suddenly began to shake, and her expression turned from shock to anger
almost immediately, but not directed towards me anymore, but rather the man. With her
clenched, gritting teeth and burning eyes hidden under a squint, she began to
advance towards the man. “You ...
brought ... HIM ... HERE!? DIDN’T
YOU!?” She shouted, and before the man could respond with anything other than a
whimper, mother grabbed him by the collar and lifted his whole body into the
air with seemingly no effort whatsoever. “DID YOU TELL
HIM!? WHAT DID YOU TELL HIM!? WHAT ARE YOU PLANNING TO DO!? Are you planning to
betray me just like ... like her? Huh? Are you?” She blasted to the man as she pinned him towards
the wall, knocking some of toys onto the floor. “No...”
Whimpered the man quietly. Mother then
proceeded to press her own face against him and whispered something harshly.
All I was able to make out were the words “ ....
protect .... you ...replaced ....”, followed by
the man gasping. She then
dropped his limp body to the floor and walked back a couple steps to grab her
shovel, while the man rubbed his neck and grunted about. Not giving
him a chance to do anything, mother quickly walked back towards him and raised
her shovel above her head. “No! Please
don’t, mo...” Choked the man as he raised both of his arms above his head. “NO!”
Shrieked mother suddenly, as if the word he was about to spit out was so
dangerous for her. And so,
without another moment of hestitation, mother swung her shovel and slammed it
into the man’s head. The man’s
head smashed open with a loud crack and red liquid burst out, staining the
walls and even my mother’s dress. The burlap sack that was covering his face
was ripped open and finally I saw the truth behind it. He was not a
human after all. As his bowler hat slumped over his cracked head I saw that
splinters were jutting out of it. Apparently, his head was just a hollow piece
of wood filled with red liquid, covered with a burlap sack for a face. Watching the first
and only friend I have ever met get killed by my own mother, it was a
traumatizing sight and I was just left sitting there in the middle of the room
in shock. I felt the eyes of all the toys surrounding me slowly turning to face
me as my mother did as well. “Get up,
let’s go.” She ordered as she walked towards me while still breathing heavily. My mouth
opened, but I didn’t know what to say, I didn’t know what to say at all. But it
didn’t matter though, for my mother pressed her right index finger onto my lips
and said, “Not one word ... love ... you will come home with me right now, and
I don’t want to hear a single word from you.” I complied of
course, but strangely, that very night, as mother dragged me through the
forest, I felt something in my heart. Something I’ve never felt before. It was
really strange, but I couldn’t help it. As the wind got colder and colder and
as I heard the birds of the evening forest made their sounds, as the brittle
orange leaves get crushed under my feet, AS my mind continued to replay what
happened that day in my mind, how mother killed someone whom I considered my
first friend for reasons I didn’t know ... I felt like I was beginning to
harbor ... hatred towards her. As soon as I
got home, mother forced me into my room and said, “I’m way ... too tired
tonight ... I will speak of your punishment tomorrow. In the meantime, You will
NOT think about what had happened today, you understand? Not. One. Bit.” Before
closing the door and locking it from the outside. I felt ...
horrible. With aching
legs and a heavy heart I painstakingly made my way towards my bed. I felt so
incredibly tired but my eyes wouldn’t close. Anything else in the room seemed
to disappear as bad thoughts clouded my mind. I wasn’t even sure what I was thinking about. All sorts of
scary things and horrible thoughts ran around without rest in my brain. I couldn’t
take it anymore, I broke down into tears, but I forced my face into my pillow
in hopes that mother won’t hear me sob. I’ve been scolded
and even beaten before, but never in my life have I ever felt as depressed as I
was that night. As I sobbed
and sobbed though, I caught a few words of what my mother was saying outside my
room “Don’t worry ... damage ... undone ... tomorrow ... replaced.” I didn’t know
what it meant, and I couldn’t care less. At least I thought I couldn’t, that
was until another voice came along. “Psst, hey
...” Said the familiar voice. I recognized it at once. It was the same, kind
voice of a girl that occasionaly kept me company from time to time. Only it was
a bit different that night. While usually very calm and soothing, something in
the tone in which it spoke in that night made me think that something was
wrong. The voice sounded like it was worried. “Huh?” I said
after I lifted my head up from the pillow, my face still wet with the tears and
my eyes still itchy and moist. “Could you
please open the window, kiddy? I need to tell you something important tonight.
Oh, and please be quiet.” Said the voice. Huh. Kiddy,
that’s what the voice always referred to me as. I always did like that
nickname, especially since I never had one before that friendly wooden man
bestowed the name Max upon me. “Open the
window? What’s wrong?” I asked as I got up from my bed. The window in
my room was located to the right of my bed, right next to bedside table. It had
a light green curtain covering it, and the color would always shine brilliantly
whenever moonlight would pass through it. “Please open
the window quickly kiddy, and please, don’t scream or shout or be too surprised
when you do.” Ordered the voice. “Surprised?
What am in for?” I thought in my head as I slowly tiptoed a couple steps
towards the window. Truth be told, I actually felt kind of nervous as I slowly
opened the curtain. Never before had the voice sounded so worried, and the fact
that it asked me to open the window and not scream when I do, just made it all
more confusing and eerie. I thought I
saw the vague silhouette of a small girl just standing outside the window as I
stood there in front of it. Slowly I
opened the curtains and was really quite bewildered at what I saw. A rag doll. A
rather large rag doll with black buttons for eyes wearing a red and purple
dress. I gasped and
my jaw dropped open, but the rag doll immediately pressed her right hand on her
lips, reminding me to be extra quiet. Thankfully, I
managed to catch my breath, and no other sound other than the gasp escaped my
mouth. I slowly and
carefully unlocked the window and gently pushed it open. A cold night breeze
greeted my face and entered the room right as I did so. “Come on
kiddy, I know this is sudden and all, but you’ve got to come with me. Come on,
climb out the window and let’s get out of here.” Said the rag doll. The rag
doll’s voice was the same as the one that I was so familiar with. ‘She’ was the
voice. “Go with you?
Where!?” I asked in a harsh whisper. “You know, my mother’s already ...” “Your
mother’s going to kill you tomorrow kiddy!” Replied the rag doll in an
equally harsh whisper, interrupting my sentence. I shut up
instantly. My brain was so shocked by that sentence that it needed a few
seconds to really process what the rag doll girl had just said, and even when
it did, all I could say was, “What!?” “I’m not
lying! Please trust me kiddy! Why would I lie to you about such a thing?” Said
the rag doll as she reached for my collar and pulled my face towards her own.
Like the man, she was also unexpectedly strong, but unlike the man, even though
she was a rag doll, she could display expressions on her face, and her
expression as she held my own face only inches from her own, was that of
genuine worry. “B-but ...
but ...” I stammered as I glanced back at the entrance door to my room a couple
times in panic. “Listen ...
I’ll explain everything as we walk. It’s too risky to tell you all the reasons
here. What if your mother heard us?” Said the rag doll. I was really
confused and I didn’t know what to do, but frankly, after what had happened
that day, I decided to trust the rag doll. “Okay, I’ll
come with you.” I said, prompting the rag doll to let go of my collar. “I’m glad you
finally understand kiddy.” Said the rag doll as she began to take some steps
away from my house, motioning me to follow her with her hands. I quickly
climbed out through the window and carefully closed it, praying that mother
didn’t see me as I looked around. After making
sure that she didn’t , I quickly followed the rag doll down the small hill and
into the woods again. It hadn’t
even been an hour, and there I was, walking through the cold, creepy woods
again, this time following a rag doll instead of a wooden man. “I ... could
you please explain everything now? I’m confused and terrified. Really, I am.” I
said as we got deeper and deeper into the woods. “Hold one
moment.” Replied the rag doll as she suddenly stopped me on my track. She then
made a turn to the right and crouched down, reaching into a bush close to one
of the really tall trees. “I think it was around here...” She muttered as she
searched for something inside the bush. After
searching for a few seconds, she finally found what she was looking for, and
that was a large brown book. The book was
nearly as large as the rag doll herself, and the rag doll was around half my
size, so that really was a large book. Its cover was decorated with a circle in
the middle, and in the middle of the circle was a strange star. The edges of
the book were decorated with nonsensical shapes and letters that I could not
read or identify. It really was a strange book, and nothing like I’ve seen
before. “This is your
mother’s ... I stole it from her work shack.” Explained the rag doll. “I then
dropped it off in this bush to hide it before coming to pick you up.” “Work shack?”
I asked. “You mean the wooden man’s shack?” The rag
doll’s button eyes grew wide. She seemed to have been quite surprised by my
question. “I thought you’ve met the wooden man. But you’ve been to the shack?
Did he take you there? W-why? How?” She asked in a somewhat bewildered and
confused tone. I nodded.
“But the wooden man is dead now. Mother killed him after she saw that he had
brought me together with him to the shack.” I added sadly. The rag doll
fell speechless for a few seconds. Both her eyes and her mouth were open wide.
“B-but ... he’s dead!? I ... why did he bring you? I only told him to come to
your house! I didn’t ask him to bring you to the shack with him! I thought you
were at home alone before your mother came home.” She explained. “So it’s true
... the wooden man did tell me of some voices of a girl that told him to come
to my house. So it was you too?” I asked, just to make sure. “Yes, it was
me. But I only sent him to your house so the work shack would be empty, thus allowing
me to come inside and steal this!” Replied the rag doll as she held up the
book. “But why?” I
asked. “ I need to
protect you kiddy. I want to set you free. I don’t want you to suffer the same
fate as me and ... Max.” Replied the rag doll. “B-but ...
I’m confused ... Max? That’s the name the wooden man gave me. Who are you
referring to? And what happened to you before? I-I’m ...” I couldn’t finish my
sentence. I was too confused and still scared. “He named you
Max?” Said the rag doll with an amused smile on her face. “He really did love
that name.” She chuckled. “I still
don’t understand...” I stammered out. The rag doll
sighed before she looked at me straight in the eyes and said in her most
soothing tone of voice, “I can tell you everything right now kiddy, about the
truth, and I will. But, I want you to prepare yourself because there’s lots for
you to take in. I hope you can handle it and believe me too. Do you think you
can do that?” I nodded
silently and sat down on the ground in front of her, so that my face was
directly facing hers. Silence
filled the air, and I began to wrap my arms around my own body to warm myself
up as the rag doll seemed to think for a few moments. “Where to start ...” She
muttered. “Okay ...”
She finally said after what seemed like minutes of her just wondering where to
begin her story. “Around fourteen years before you were born, your mother had a
twin. One of them, a boy, was named Max, and the other one, a girl, was named
Cindy, who was, well ... me. I am Cindy, and the ‘person’ whom you referred to
as the wooden man was Max.” Just that
first sentence alone made my head spin. It took a full few seconds before I
could finally ask, “So what you’re saying is ... you’re my older sister, and
the wooden man was my older brother?” in a weak voice. “Correct.”
Answered the rag doll (Cindy) simply. “I’m glad you’ve caught on. We’re your
siblings.” “B-but
neither of you are even human! And I’ve never even seen either one of you
before today!” I protested, not knowing how else to put it. “Be patient
kiddy, I’ll get there ...” Said Cindy as she put her rag doll hands on my knees
to calm me down. After I took
a gulp and nodded, she continued her story. “I had always
thought mother was really weird even since we were kids. She was seriously into
the supernatural and was obsessed with mystics and slavery for some reason. She
was also very paranoid and demanding, teaching us things like never to disobey
her and don’t ask questions as well as other rules that I’m sure she forces
upon you as well.” Explained Cindy. “You already
know how your mother is don’t you, kiddy? You also know how ... unstable she
could get sometimes.” She added. I nodded
simply. I actually felt a strange relieve to meet someone who dared say bad
things about mother like that, since all this time I had secretly, yet
fearfully been surpressing those very feelings and thoughts about her. Yet ... I
still felt a sense of unease talking bad about her behind her back like that.
Even though I knew it all had to be done, the years of reinforced pressure my
mother had put on me still had an effect. “Oh all the rules I am breaking right
now.” I thought as I sat there, listening to a rag doll’s story about how she
claims to be my sister. I had to
shake it off. All those feelings of unease, and my fear of mother, I knew I had
to shake them off. I had to fight it, and force myself to listen because I
understood it could potentially save my life and shed some truth. It was all really hard for my brain handle,
for the idea of even talking to a
stranger was such a ridiculously far-fetched idea just the day prior. I had to really force the logic of there being a
whole truth other than what my mother had been telling me into my mind in order
to be able to listen to Cindy, and it didn’t help at all that her story was so
... well, hard to take in. What did help
however, was the death of the wooden man, or as Cindy referred to him, my
brother Max. If it wasn’t for his death, I would’ve still trusted my mother so
much ... more. So I forced
myself to keep an open mind. I forced my eyes to look on to the rag doll named
Cindy who was standing in front of me as I brushed my hair back and pinched my
forehead just to be really sure that all that was going on wasn’t just a dream.
The pain that
I felt while pinching my forehead, soothed by the cold night air, accompanied
by the pain of my aching legs and my heavy eyes that wouldn’t shut reassured me
so, and with that, I listened on as Cindy continued her story. “However,
while mother was such a harsh and demanding person who could be unstable at
times, my, or rather our father was very different. He was a very
kind and caring man, yet he was very compliant towards mother. Never once had
he ever stood up against her, well not until the one day after you were born.”
She continued as began pacing back and forth in front of me. “I ... never
knew my father. I never knew and I still don’t know anything about him. Once I
asked mother where father was, and she said he left on the day I was born. She
also scolded me and told me never to mention the word ‘dad’ or ‘father’ ever
again.” I mumbled sadly. “Hmm. There’s
a reason for that.” Said Cindy. “Oh, and aren’t you wondering how me and Max
were given names but you weren’t?” She asked. I shook my
head. It didn’t even occur to me until that very moment that she mentioned it.
The concept of names, I always thought, was unimportant. I never knew any other
name other than mother and ‘kiddy’ before that day came along, and those
weren’t even real names. Mother would
always refer to me as ‘love’, or she’s angry with me she would usually just
call me ‘boy’. “Well, the
reason is because we were both named not by mother, but by father.” Explained
Cindy. “Anyway, back to that day after you were born. By then, father had not
yet thought up of the perfect name to give you it would seem, and mother told
him not bother. She also said there was something she needed to discuss with
father in private, and so she sent me and Max to play outside.” “Max
inherited a lot of father’s personality. He was much more compliant and much
less doubtful and suspicious than me. He always thought of our family as a
perfect family, and he never once doubted my mother. I on the other hand, I
don’t know why, but for some reason ... I always saw the anomaly in the things
that my mother did, and the way she behaved and treated us all as a family.
Unlike Max, I had an idea what a perfect family is, and I knew that we weren’t
it. While I obliged to mother’s commands most of the time, I still never
trusted her the way Max did, and I always wondered how a kind hearted and soft
spoken man like father ever ended up with someone like her.” She continued as
she suddenly stopped pacing back and forth and turned away from me to face the
long road of the forest before us, as if she was in deep thought, with her hands
neatly crossed behind her back. I could almost feel an aura of sadness and
despair emanating from her body as she just stood there in front of me. “A perfect
family ...” That word suddenly popped into my mind as if to fill the silence of
the air during which Cindy seemed to have been trying to get her emotions
together. “A perfect
family ...” That word kept repeating itself over and over again for a few
seconds inside my head. “How ... I
... never even knew my father! ...
my mother... was all that I ... had!” Suddenly a voice exploded inside my head.
It shocked my whole body and made my ears ring. I began to
shudder and shake as I clenched my teeth and raised my hands to hold my head
together. Out of nowhere I suddenly felt a throbbing headache that made me feel
like my head was going to explode. I lowered my back, so much so that my
forehead nearly touched the dirty leaves on the forest ground. My eyes began
to feel moist and I felt a trickle of water run down my cheeks as I began to
gasp, as if I wasn’t getting enough oxygen. I had burst
into tears, and I didn’t even know why. “A perfect
family ...” Once again that dreaded word repeated itself inside my throbbing
head. “What’s
wrong? Kiddy? Hey, come on...” Said Cindy as she turned around and tried to
comfort me. “I ... how
...” Was all that I could spit out. I closed my
eyes and hoped to envelop myself in darkness. A part of me wished that the
whole day I had experienced was just a bad dream, while the other part of me wished
my whole life as I had remembered it
was just a bad dream. It didn’t
happen of course. I knew it wouldn’t. I knew none of it could just be a dream.
Things don’t go like that. Not for me. And the pain that I felt just reassured
me so. The horrible,
throbbing, heavy pain. As I still
kept my eyes closed, (so closed in fact, that it hurt), images of my past
memories suddenly flashed in my mind, filling the darkness. Too bad all
the memories were horrible memories. Images and
memories of my mother beating me and scolding me and restricting me from doing
whatever I want, they all suddenly flashed around in my mind, and the ringing
of mother’s shrill and terrifying voice filled my ears. “No ...
stop!” I sobbed. “No happy memories, no happy memories at all ...” The throbbing
in my head and the ringing of mother’s voice in my ears got worse and worse
until ... they finally stopped. And the tears
stopped as well, and so did the shaking of my body. I didn’t know
why, but it all stopped all of a sudden. The pain, it went away. “Agh ...” I
muttered as I slowly raised my head up, and after wiping the tears away from my
heavy eyes I saw Cindy’s raggedy face. Though
raggedy, I felt that hers was a face filled with kindness, sympathy, and
warmth. All things that I finally realized my mother never once showed to me. She had her
raggedy hands on my back the whole time, stroking it gently and warmly. As she
did, my tears gradually stopped. “I know it’s
rough but ...” Cindy began to talk, but I cut her short. “No no ...
please, go on with the story. I can take it.” I said. “Are you
sure?” She asked as she looked me in the eyes and wiped some of the tears away.
I felt a little tickled as her soft raggedy hands swiped my cheeks and under my
eye. It made me smile lightly as I gave her a nod. “So anyway,
where was I again?” She asked with a small chuckle. “I forgot.” I knew she was
still trying to cheer me up. “Mother sent
you and Max to go out and play ...” I replied simply, while my eyes were still
trying to adjust. It was really quite hard, since the sky was really dark. “Yes, of
course. Well anyway, Max being as compliant and innocent as he was, immediately
went down the small hill and played around, obeying mother’s order. It had
never happened before you know ... prior to that day, the last thing that mother
wanted was for us to wander off on our own without her supervision. So me,
being me, never having trusted mother completely and thinking something was
suspicious, decided to stick around and listen in on what mother and father
were talking about. And well, let’s just say ... it shocked me.” Said Cindy. By
then, it looked as if she was the one
about to break down and cry. “W-what is
it? What were they talking about?” I asked. At first I was confused, but after
a few seconds I then understood that it must difficult for her remembering
something that was probably incredibly traumatic for her. I wanted to
comfort her, but I really didn’t know how. I didn’t know what to say. I was
still pretty insecure myself, and having to comfort a rag doll was something I
never even dreamed would happen in a million years. And so I just waited in
silence as she prepared herself to continue the story. “She wanted
to kill us.” Replied Cindy. “K-kill you?”
I stammered. “M-mother? Did she really ...” “Yes. She
told father her plan. How she finally figured out the perfect spell to transfer
the souls of newly deceased humans into objects.” “She told him
that her dream was to create a large family of wooden toys and dolls that would
serve both of them and bend to their every will. She wanted to turn us into toy
slaves. She wanted to make us her test subjects, and she planned to eventually
turn you into a toy as well once you were old enough.” Said Cindy. I was at a
loss for words. My mouth opened, but as expected no sound came out. I didn’t
know what to say, but I was ready to believe anything that Cindy was telling
me. “Father,
rather surprisingly, wasn’t ready to oblige, and for the first time in my life
I saw him stand up to mother. The idea alone repulsed him. He said he had always
tolerated mother’s interests in mystics, but he said she really crossed the
line when she wanted to kill Max and me and turn us into toys, and eventually
you as well. An aggresive side of father had awoken. A part of him I had never
before seen. A part of him I idolized.” “Unfortunately,
that was also his last moment alive. Mother was so shocked when father stood up
to her and tried to fight her like that, that she lost it. After father yelled
and shouted at her loudly for a few minutes, she ran towards the kitchen, and
father chased after her. I witnessed the whole thing through the front window,
but that was the last time I saw my father. Chasing my crazed mother into the
kitchen. I assumed she managed to overpower him and butcher him after that. I only
heard the screams. I didn’t witness what was going on in the kitchen myself. It
was probably best that I didn’t. The screams that I heard were ... traumatic
enough for me. Even to this day, when I think back on it ...” Cindy’s voice got
weaker and weaker and her legs finally bent down and she fell to her knees,
shaking. “Oh, daddy
... those ... screams ... I ...” She sobbed and shook her face as she covered
her face with her hands.
“Cindy ...” I
said in barely more than a whisper as I reached out my right hand to comfort
the rag doll. However, before I could even touch her, she looked up, at my
face. “I’m sorry
kiddy. I didn’t think I would be the one to break down ... It was such a
horrible memory though, just thinking about it makes me shiver.” She said as
she wiped under her button eyes. “Oh right, I
can’t produce tears...” She whispered as she forced herself to smile. I had a
feeling that she was really forcing that smile though, so I wouldn’t feel bad
for her. “So mother
really is an evil person all along. It’s all true ... mother ... she’s ...” I
didn’t finish my sentence. My eyes spaced out and twitched as I uttered those
words with difficulty. Cindy nodded
sadly.
“I still
remember the horror of what I felt that day, after what I had heard and
witnessed. I wanted to run, but my body was frozen on the spot. I was too
horrified, too petrified. My legs wouldn’t move, in fact, they failed me. My
eyes began to water and my vision began to blur, but I wasn’t crying, I
couldn’t cry, I couldn’t make a sound. I just slammed my back on the front wall
of our house and slid down slowly as my legs got weaker and weaker. It felt
like they were turning into jello. Before I knew it, the front door slammed
open and my still-enraged and crazed mother saw me right away. She asked me if
had heard all that. I didn’t reply. I could even barely look at her, it took a
while for my head to turn so that I could look at her face. She had ... drops
of blood ... on her face, but I knew instantly that it wasn’t hers.” Cindy’s voice
got weaker again as she continued. For some
reason I just couldn’t stand seeing like that. “Cindy ... you don’t have to
finish the story if it’s that hard. I understand.” “You
understand?” Asked Cindy after she sobbed loudly. “Yes. I
understand that mother is ... evil. Let’s just go.” I replied as I prepared to
stand up, but Cindy stopped me. “No ... you
deserve to hear the whole story. You NEED to.” She insisted as she tugged at my
pant leg. “I’m okay, please don’t make me feel bad.” “If you say
so, I guess ... but are you sure it’s not too painful for you?” I asked. I never
thought I would be the one to say that in such a situation, but she really did
seem like she was in pain just by telling the story. Cindy nodded
in reply, so I sat back down on the ground, while she slowly let go of my pant
leg and placed her hands on her chest, taking a deep breath.
“Anyways, I
think I passed out after that, never to wake up as a human being again. The
memory of mother’s blood-soaked face is the last memory of my days as a human
being I can recall. She must’ve killed me while I was unconscious, and I don’t
know how or when Max was killed, but it couldn’t have been long after I was.”
She finally continued. ... “The next
thing I could recall, was me waking up, but it was different. Really different. My eyes felt really
heavy and at first, everything seemed really dark and blurry. At first, I
couldn’t move my hands or legs and I
couldn’t know where I was. I didn’t know what I was seated on, and I couldn’t
feel my body, except for my head which was hurting like crazy. But after a
while, my vision gradually returned to me. I was seated in the dim lit living
room of my house, on the floor. I could recognize it by the single chair I
could see far off in the middle of that room, and the flickering lamp above it.” “Seated on
that chair, was mother. She was holding a large book. Her expression seemed to
light up as I began moving my head around, and at that time I felt something
was ... off. The first thing I realized was I was much shorter than I should’ve
been, and that prompted me to look down at my body, and drop my so called ‘jaw’
in shock. My hands were just stumps without fingers, and so were my legs, only
they ended in black shoes with white socks that seemed as if they were stitched
onto my skin. Upon closer inspection, I realized they were stitched to my skin, and my ‘skin’ was no longer human skin,
but rather cloth. At first I couldn’t believe it, but then I suddenly
remembered what mother said to father before she butchered him. She had
succeeded, I thought. She had turned me into a toy, and not only that, as I
slowly turned to my left I saw that Max been turned into a toy. A tall toy made
of wood wearing a black suit that used to belong to my father, complete with a
bowler hat and burlap sack covering his face.” “The wooden
man ...” I muttered in a small voice. “Yes.” Said
Cindy simply. “The wooden man. My twin brother and your older brother. At first
I thought the toy next to me was father due to his height and the way he was
dressed, but he spoke to me first, and I knew that was Max’s voice.” She
explained. “Mother
nearly leapt up and down in excitement as she observed us as living toys. Max
was trying to adapt to his body, but I was too shocked since I knew full well
what had happened. Mother lied to us about that though, she made up a story
about how father left and how we would be happier living as toys. I didn’t
listen to her. That night, as mother and Max were sleeping, I snuck out of the
house, never to enter it again since.” She continued her story. “What ...
happened to you after that Cindy, after you ... ran away. How did mother react
...” I asked in barely more than a whisper. “I think she
was furious. As for myself, I lived on the run for nearly about a week as
mother continued to search for me. During those painful early days I nearly
tore myself apart. I tried to cry but no tears came out even though my eyes
felt like a dam about to burst, and I wanted to scream and shriek as loudly as
I could, but I was afraid mother would find me if I did. I banged and slammed
my rag doll head against rocks and trees, hoping that it had all been just a
bad dream. It was absolute torture. I wanted to run away from the woods, but I
knew I would have no place in the world, not as a rag doll. I had no purpose to
live ... but then ... I remembered about you, kiddy.” Said Cindy. “Remembered about
me?” I asked, a little confused. “Yes. I remembered
that mother said she would do the same to you when you grow up. I wanted to
take you away with me then, but I couldn’t, since well ... I’m a rag doll.” “So ... I
decided to just check on you and keep you company from time to time by speaking
to you from outside the window when you’re in your bed. Sometimes I would also
wander through the forest to secretly check on mother and Max as well, to see
what they’re doing, and ... over these past twelve years ... I have discovered
a lot of ... gruesome, morbid, and unforgivable things about it. About what she
was doing. Horrible things ... unimaginable horror.” She continued. “Unimaginable
horror ... like ...” I didn’t get to finish my sentence. “Our mother
... she’s a monster ... a heartless monster in a human’s body. She ... I can’t
...” Cindy began to explain in a stuttery voice, and her body began to shake
once more. “I thought
... the terror and curse that she would bring into this world was cursed upon
our family and our family alone, but I was wrong.” She said. “H-huh?” I
stammered. “For about
two years after the incident, mother and Max were busy building the shack now
known as her ‘work shack.’ It was nothing special, and I was relieved for a
while that they weren’t doing anything too horrible. After she was finished
with work shack, she kept herself and Max occupied by making lots and lots of
toys, some made from wood and some made from cloth. I was curious what they
were planning to do with it and I had my worries for the worst, and those
worries of mine proved to be true ... I believe it was about a year after she
was finished with the work shack did she regularly go out of the woods carrying a shovel and a large bag, not to
return until the end of the day. Sometimes she would come back empty handed,
but other times not. The first time I witnessed the occasion when she came back
not empty handed was truly traumatic.
My fears were realized. Do you know where I’m going with this kiddy?” She
asked. I gulped. I
wasn’t sure whether I was supposed to nod or shake my head, so I just gulped
loudly and continued listening. Before she
continued however, an icy gust of wind blew past us, prompting Cindy to look up
towards the sky. “It’s getting
really dark and really late, and ... well, we need to do something. Quick,
we’ll talk as we walk.” She suddenly said as she picked up her book, turned
around and began to walk quickly. “Wait ...” I called out to her as I stood up
myself, which proved to be quite difficult as my legs felt very stiff and
tingly. Then a
thought struck my mind. “Wait ... Cindy, you never told me where you’re leading
me.” Cindy stopped
dead on her tracks and slowly turned around. “I haven’t told you?” I shook my
head as I walked a few steps forward, catching up with her. “Are we just gonna
run away and hide from mother in the woods? Like you did these past twelve
years?” I asked. “No.”
Answered Cindy. “We’re on a mission tonight, kiddy, and both you and I will be
free from mother’s grasps before sunrise ... hopefully” “We will?” I
asked. “But where are we going now?” “To mother’s
work shack, or more precisely, the graveyard next to it.” Answered Cindy.
“You’ve seen it haven’t you?” She asked as we resumed our march. Suddenly the
image of the large stretch of land with the gray tombstones I saw earlier that
day came to mind. “So it really was a graveyard after all.” I thought. “But who
could’ve been buried there? And why are going there?” “Cindy, why
are we going to that graveyard? And whose graves are those?” I finally asked
after a few moments of hestitation. “Those are
the graves ... of the kids ...” Cindy began to answer, but she didn’t look at
me, and she didn’t finish her sentence. Instead, she even increased her pace. With my legs
still somewhat stiff and aching, it took me quite some effort to try and catch
up with her. “Cindy wait
...” I called out. She didn’t
slow down, but with some struggle, I managed to increase my pace as well and
catch up with her. “Hey ... what
kids?” I asked as I was finally walking only a few inches behind the rag doll. My question
once again made Cindy stop dead on her tracks. After
dropping the large brown book to the ground she finally answered, “The kids
that mother killed. Innocent kids.” “M-mother ...
killed ... innocent kids too?” I asked in a shaky voice as my body began to
shake as well and my eyes widened. “Yes. And not
only once. She continued to do it over the years. She probably killed the kids
she lured from the nearby neighborhood just outside the woods. That’s what
mother would bring back in her large gray bag whenever she would come back from
her strolls not empty handed.” Explained Cindy. There was a
period of silence before Cindy turned around to look and me and said, “Horrible
isn’t it? I know kiddy, but it’s the truth. I’m telling the truth, and you’re
going to see the proof soon enough.” Before she continued to walk again. I didn’t
respond to her question. I felt my left eye twitch a couple times but ... strangely I wasn’t so surprised or horrified anymore. “So that’s
what mother’s ‘work’ really is.” I thought as I scraped my shoes on the ground.
I stared at it while I walked, crushing the leaves, dragging them, as I
followed Cindy towards the graveyard next to mother’s work shack. My dry eyes
twitched and blinked a few more times as I focused my gaze on the leaves I was
crushing under my feet. I also licked my lips a lot since the cold breeze of
the forest had made them dry. “I resisted
telling you all these because I was never sure you could handle it, kiddy.
Also, I held back because I always held on to the hope that mother’s mind had
changed. I had always hoped that she would decide to raise you properly and
forget about turning you into a toy.” “I kept holding on to that hope even after I
knew what inhuman crimes she was commiting. I still held on to that hope
because I didn’t want to terrify you for no reason. I knew that without father,
mother would be the only person you were attached to. I knew she was the only
person you could love, so I decided to just keep you company as this ‘invisible
voice’.” Said Cindy. I didn’t
respond, but I did stop walking, and so did she. My eyes were still fixed on
the ground as some thoughts and feelings began returning to my head. I had to
fight them off though, I didn’t want them to. I really didn’t. “But then ...
this morning, I ... heard mother talking to Max. She was saying about how you
are ‘ready’ and that it’s time for you to be turned into a toy as well. She had
planned to kill you tomorrow.” She continued. “Is ... that
... so ...” I began to talk through gritted teeth. “I couldn’t
just stay put of course, and so as soon as mother left to try and round up
another kid to kill, I whispered to Max
(from outside the cabin) and told him to go to your house, all so I
could take this book and then come
and fetch you kiddy.” Cindy finally finished. It took me a
while to respond to that, but I finally raised my head and looked at her. “Why
do you need the book, Cindy?” I asked. “We’re going
to need it to ressurect the children.” She answered simply as she tapped on the
book with her hand. “We’re going to need their help if we want to defeat
mother.” Suddenly I
felt my stomach drop and my heart skip. I gulped loudly as I slowly raised my
hand to cover my mouth. “We’re ... going to kill her aren’t we?” “Yes ... ”
Answered Cindy simply with a nod. After that,
it didn’t take long for us to finally arrive at our destination. “We’re here.”
Said Cindy as she stopped in front of the long stretch of land next to mother’s
work shack. I looked on
with discomfort at the rows and rows of grave, all crudely put up, all cramped
together in that depressing stretch of land. The whole area was enveloped by a
cold, thin layer of mist, making it hard to see what was in the distance. “We need to
fetch a shovel from inside the work shack first. Come on.” Motioned Cindy as
she began trotting towards the shack. I didn’t
budge. My eyes were still wide and
transfixed on the graves. The graves of the innocent children that my mother
had killed. It gave me a strange feeling, like almost a feeling of guilt, but
more like a feeling of despair. It was as if the children were moaning under
the ground. “Hey kiddy,
come on!” I suddenly snapped out of my trance as I heard Cindy call me for the
second time. “Oh yes ...
yes, I’m coming.” I called back, and after one final glance at the graveyard, I
ran towards the shack to catch up to her. “Open it, I
can’t reach the knob.” Ordered Cindy as she motioned towards the doorknob right
above her head, just barely out of her reach. “Remember
love ... never disobey orders!” The words of my mother suddenly rang in my ear
as I turned the doorknob. Just her voice in my head, it made me somewhat angry,
somewhat ... frustrated. It caused me to bang my head on the door as it swung
open. I fell on the
floor with a loud thud, and a confused Cindy immediately ran to my side. “What the
heck did you do that for? Are you okay though?” She asked. I didn’t
answer. I simply groaned as I rubbed my aching head. “Get out of my mind, mother! Don’t tell ... me
... what to do! Please get out!” I yelled in my own head. “You’re evil ... you ... killer ... I don’t love you ... anymore.” “Yes ... I’m
okay Cindy. I’m sorry.” I finally answered as I lifted my head, but I was
surprised that she wasn’t there. She wasn’t beside me, and as I looked around
the dim room I finally spotted her. She was
standing in the corner, silent. Standing over the slumped, lifeless body of my
friend, the wooden man. His wooden
body was exactly how it was when I left the first time. His head was still
crushed and his burlap sack mask was torn, but his bowler hat was still
covering his smashed wooden face. His body, still wearing the suit stained in
red, with the arms and legs sprawled on the floor, it all seemed so ...
lifeless. The stains of
the red liquid that was smashed out of the wooden man’s head was still
splattered on the wall behind his body, and the shovel that was used to smash his head was still lying
in front of him, also still stained in red. Cindy didn’t
say a word, but as I got up and walked over to her, I saw that her expression
said it all. Her mouth was
curled into a slight frown and both of her button eyes were squinting. “He said ...
he was very lonely you know. He wondered why you left him alone and disappeared
from his life for twelve years without saying a word. But ... he also seemed
relieved when I told him you were keeping me company.” I said as I stood there
next to Cindy. “ ... Is that
so?” She replied, before kneeling down in front of his body. “I’m sorry Max ...
for these past twelve years, but soon ... soon we’ll finally be together again.
I promise ...” She whispered. “Thank you
...” I thought in my head as I closed my eyes and paid my tribute to him in
silence. “Well now ...
it’s okay Max, he’s in a better place now.” Said Cindy suddenly as she turned
to face me. My eyes
widened. “Did you just call me ... Max?” I asked. “Oh, right
... sorry kiddy, I was just ...” She seemed to have been caught off guard
herself as she realized what she had called me. “No no,
Cindy. It’s okay, I like that name a lot.” I replied with a smile. “It was his
gift to me.” Cindy smiled
back, but her expression quickly turned serious as she tried to grab the shovel
lying in between us and the wooden man. “Let’s go
then kiddy, we’ve got no more time to waste. Let’s begin.” She said. “You mean
...” I asked suspiciously as I realized what her plan was with that shovel. “Yes. We need
to dig up and exhume the bodies first. How else are we going to ressurect the
children silly?” Answered Cindy in a teasing manner, but I knew that she was
dead serious. Just then, I
suddenly realized that we were in a room full of toys, and as I looked around
the room, all of the toys’ eyes met my own. I felt my
nape hair rise as I asked Cindy, “Um Cindy, are these toys alive? The wooden
ma-, I mean Max said they were, only they were dormant.” “Yes. It’s
true. I witnessed mother transfer one of the souls of the kids from the body
into a toy using a spell from this book myself. It was a scary sight, but I was
used to it by then.” Explained Cindy. “Well then,
why aren’t they moving around like you, and Max? ... you know, before his toy
head got smashed.” I asked. “My guess is
that mother hasn’t ‘awakened’ them yet.” Replied Cindy. I didn’t
fully understand what that meant, but before I could ask anything else, Cindy
shoved the shovel onto my knee. I grabbed it right away. “Let’s go, we
don’t have that much time! What if mother suddenly comes here?” She ordered as
she pushed me towards the door. “Listen, you
begin digging the graves, and I’ll take the toys out of the shack. Well, the
ones I can reach anyway. Okay?” Asked Cindy as she stood in the doorway with me
already outside. I nodded, and
as she retreated back to the shack, I began to walk towards the cemetery, with
shovel in hand. Suddenly, I
remembered something. I turned back,
looked around, and I saw it. Right next to
the shack was the large gray bag that mother was carrying before she killed Max
and dragged me home. “Um ...
Cindy?” I called out as I began to walk towards it slowly. “What is it?”
She called back from inside the shack, accompanied by the rustling of toys
falling to the ground. “I-is this
... could this ... be ...” I stammered as I felt my nape hair rise again. “Huh?” Said
Cindy as she ran outside and stood next to me. “Urgh ... uh
oh ...” She whispered as we both loomed over the large bag. It was clear that
there was something inside it, and we both knew what it was. Cindy slowly
walked towards the bag and untied the knot, only to cry, “Not again ...” I felt my
stomach lurch and my whole body shiver as I saw what was inside. A body of a
girl, around my age, or maybe even younger, dead with blood dripping from cold,
pale face. I then looked
down at what I was holding in my hand and dropped it to the ground immediately.
My hands were shaking. “That shovel
... mother used it to kill her too.” I muttered in barely more than a stuttery
whisper. “I don’t
think mother has had the chance to even transfer her soul into a toy yet ...”
Said Cindy. “No, Cindy ...
I t-think she was killed today ... I remember mother br-bringing that bag
before she dragged me home earlier today.” I replied. “Hmm ...
well, all the more reason for us to stop her now I guess ...” Whispered Cindy. “Come on
kiddy, we need to do this! Grab that shovel and dig!” She ordered, suddenly
sounding more determined than ever as she tugged at my pant leg. I gulped and
nodded before I bent down to pick up the shovel again, my stare still fixed on
the girl as I did. I was sweating, even
in that horribly icy weatherof the night. “Leave her be
... she’ll be avenged soon.” Said Cindy before she returned to shack. I then forced
myself to turn away as well and begin walking towards the graveyard. I shivered
and rubbed my hands together before I planted my shovel into the nearest grave.
My hands felt
numb even after the first few digs, and the cold definitely made it worse, but
I forced myself to pull through. Thankfully
the first grave I dug was rather shallow, and I hit something before long. I cleared the dirt covering that something
with the tip of the shovel and saw that it was a crude wooden coffin. I squinted my
eyes and took another loud gulp before I plunged my shovel into the edge of the
coffin’s lid. I pulled, and
the lid made loud and harsh cracking sound as it opened. A foul stench
filled the air as soon as it did, forcing me to back away immediately. I
coughed and gagged and covered my mouth before I leaned forward to see what was
inside. The body of a
boy, with rotten flesh and sunken eyes. Some of the flesh had even peeled off
of his cheeks and hands. My face
started to feel hot and my eyes began to feel moist after just a few seconds of
looming over that body. “I don’t feel
too good...” I said to myself as I backed away a couple more steps and coughed
once more. As I wiped a
tear from my left eye I saw that Cindy had already taken out quite a few toys
from shack, and the rustling sound from inside indicated that she was already
trying to get more. The toys that
she had gotten out of the shack were all piled up on the ground a few feet from
the door. They all had their glassy eyes looking at me, shimmering under the
silver moonlight. I looked up
and saw through a clearing from the trees above that the moon was already
hanging high above us. “It must be
close to midnight ...” I thought as its radiant glow amidst the stars entranced
me for a few seconds, until I shook my head and returned to the graveyard to
dig more graves. More graves
of the kids that mother had killed ... The grave
right next to one I just dug was also as shallow as the first one. More foul
stench filled the air as I cracked open the coffin. I covered my nose with my
shirt as I looked at the body inside it. It was another boy, though seemed like
that one had been buried longer than the first boy I whose I grave I had dug
up. After what
felt like hours digging grave after grave, I began to get used to the foul
rotten stench. The bodies
however, varied greatly. Some were boys, some were girls, some were older than
the others, and some looked like they were younger. Some were decaying worse
than the rest, some looked like they had just been buried, while some few
others had been reduced to nothing but their bones. “Arrgh...” I
collapsed on the ground after digging up the final grave. As I gasped
for breath, I dropped the shovel flat to ground next to me, and I looked at my
hands. They were dirty and and blistering dry. Cindy, who
had already begun lining up the toys in rows after she had gotten them all out
of the warehouse, noticed me and immediately ran to my aid. “Kiddy! Are
you okay!?” She asked as she placed her raggedy hands on my chest. “Just ...
tired ...” I gasped out. “I did it though ... Cindy ... I dug it all up ... did
I ... do ... a ... good ... job?” I asked. “Yes ... yes
you did, kiddy. You did a perfect job, get up now, don’t lie next to a grave.”
Replied Cindy as she pulled my hand. As I got up,
I picked up the shovel and realized something. In the
not-so-far distance, half covered by the mist, were three graves that I haven’t
dug up yet. They were separated from the rest. “Oh no ...” I
groaned. “What is it?”
Asked Cindy. “I’m not done
yet ... look there, there’s still three graves I haven’t dug up yet.” I replied
as I pointed towards the three graves. “Huh ...
you’re right.” Said Cindy. “Wait a minute, could it be ...” She then whispered
as she began walking towards the three tombstones, with me following closely
behind. “Oh ... so
this is where ...” I heard her groan as she stopped in front of the three
tombstones. She was looking down at the ground and she had one hand covering
her face. Upon getting
closer to her and the tombstones, I realized what she meant. Unlike the
other graves, the tombstones were marked. The names were: CINDY, MAX, and
GEORGE. “Cindy ...
i-is this really ...” I began to ask, but she answered before I finished. “Apparently
so ...” Answered Cindy in barely more than a whisper. “I’ve never
known where my original body is buried before this, you know. Don’t bother
digging my grave, kiddy, or Max’s, or father’s. We won’t need to.” She
explained before turning around and heading back towards the shack. “Father ...
so his name is George ...” I thought before I turned around and followed Cindy. “Cindy,
what’s gonna happen after mother is ... you know, dead?” I asked as we walked. “We’re all
going to be free, kiddy. We’re all going to be free.” Answered Cindy simply. “Oh ...” I
muttered. Just then,
Cindy stopped in front of me and motioned for me to crouch down. “After this,
we are going to ressurect these dead children and they’ll help us ... kill
mother. You don’t need to participate in that, kiddy. No, in fact, while me and
the rest of these dead children march towards your house to confront her, I
don’t want you to come along. You need to run away, far away from the woods and
into the closest neighborhood. There, somebody is bound to find you. When asked
your name, I want you to make up whatever name you could, but don’t tell them
anything else, not mother, not me, not the dead children, okay? Tell them
you’ve forgotten everything about your past, and you just woke up one day in
the woods. It will be much easier for you that way. They’ll give you a new
home.” She said. “You understand?”
She asked. I nodded,
before asking back, “But what’s gonna happen to you?” “I’ll finally
be able to set myself free from this wretched rag doll body. I’ll be at peace
...” She answered as a small smile spread across her raggedy face. “Oh ...” I replied
simply as I kicked a small pebble on the ground, sending it far away into the
darkness. “So you’ll die as well...” “Wait here.
I’ll go get the book.” Said Cindy as soon as we arrived back to the shack. I stood there
waiting along with the rows and rows of toys of all shapes and sizes scattered
in front of the shack as Cindy went inside to fetch mother’s strange book. “Well, I hope
this works then ...” She prayed as she returned outside a few moments later,
with the book in her hand. After opening
the book and browsing through the pages for a while, she finally said, “Here it
is ... cross your fingers, kiddy.” Before walking a few steps forward, so that
was standing between the rows of toys and the ground and the open graves. “Wait, we’ll
need to draw this circle on the ground first. Could you look for a twig,
kiddy?” She asked. I nodded and
began scanning the ground. As one would expect, it didn’t take me long to a
find a simple twig, I just had to step out of the forest clearing and search
under the trees for a bit. After drawing
the strange circle with the star in the middle like the one in the cover of the
book, I threw the twig away and watched as Cindy sat in the middle of it, with
the book laid out open in front of her. She then
began the ressurection ritual by chanting some strange incantations that I
couldn’t make out. While she
continued muttering the eerie incantations with her voice that gradually got
deeper and deeper, I felt the temperature suddenly drop exponentially. The weather
got really, really cold, but I didn’t care. My eyes were still fixed on her as
I waited for something to happen. My body didn’t so much as twitch from the
cold. I kept my
fists clenched beside me as a strong gust of wind suddenly blew my hair back
and ... suddenly, silence. Cindy had
apparently finished the ritual, but nothing happened ... nothing at all. I gulped and
asked in a shaky voice, “D-did it work, Cindy? If not, what are we gonna do
now?” Before Cindy
could answer, I suddenly heard loud rustling from behind me, accompanied by the
sound of heavy, heavy footsteps. The sound of footsteps I was unfortunately all
too familiar with. “O-oh no ...
she’s here ... and we’ve failed! We haven’t ... Oh no no no ... Why did she
come?” Whimpered Cindy. Her button eyes were wide and fear-stricken, her mouth
was open, and her whole body was shaking. I was
terrified too. I knew who was coming, but before I even had a chance to turn
around, she was already there. I recognized
her heavy breathing at once, I felt her. She was standing only a few feet from
myself, only a few feet behind me, but I couldn’t bring myself to turn around.
I felt my eyes twitch a few times as I still had them locked on Cindy. “Love ...”
Said mother from behind me in between her breathing. “You’ve been naughty.” I could feel
her presence get closer and closer as she began to take heavy steps towards me. I wanted to run away, but my whole body felt
like it had been frozen. I was frozen on the spot, with both of my fists still
clenched at my sides. I was really confused, and really scared. I didn’t know
what to do. I couldn’t move! Even in the
cold weather, sweat was dripping down my face like crazy as I tried to force my
legs to move, but I couldn’t, and my mother was getting closer and closer. In
fact, I could almost feel her hand grip my right shoulder when suddenly, Cindy
yelled with all her might, “Run kiddy! Get behind me!” Her scream
seemed to have broken whatever was keeping me frozen on the spot, as at that
particular moment, my legs dashed forward and I was able to run away from
mother and get behind Cindy. Mother had an
expression of utter disbelief at what I did. Her right arm was still stretched
in front of her for a few seconds and her left eye twitched as she began to
slowly turn to face me and Cindy. “Ah ... so
you’ve finally joined their side eh, love? How much did she tell you, and how
much did Max tell you earlier? You’ve finally decided to betray me huh, your
beloved mother, just like the two of them...” She said slowly. “Max never
betrayed you by the way, you killed him for nothing, witch!” Replied Cindy. “It doesn’t
matter ... even if he didn’t tell that boy anything, he still almost spoiled my
secret in front of him. Plus he brought him to this very shack earlier today. He
wasn’t supposed to know any of this yet, not until tomorrow ...” Said mother.
“What about you? No doubt you’ve told him a lot?” She asked. “Oh yes ... I
told him everything. I told him about how you killed father, and me and Max,
and all those kids! I told him the truth! I also told him about how you were
going to turn him into a toy tomorrow! I can’t let that happen though ...”
Yelled Cindy. “Wait ... how
did you know I was going to kill him and turn him into a toy tomorrow, and how
did you know about the kids? You disappeared twelve years ago, before I even did any of those! You were nowhere to be
found, you just vanished! What have
you been doing these past twelve years? Heck, I’m surprised I’m even seeing you
now.” Asked mother. “I’ve been
spying on you, secretly watching you, AND I’ve been keeping Max here company
from time to time, while at the same time making sure he would not suffer the
same fate as me, Max, and father.” Answered Cindy. Mother opened
her mouth to speak, but then her eyes suddenly turned wide. Her gaze
shifted from Cindy to the book in front of her, then towards the open graves,
then finally towards the piles of toys all lined up in front of the shack. Her body
began to shake, and her face was turning red. Her eyes were squinting and
twitching uncontrollably. “What are you planning to do, you worthless rag doll!?” She screamed at the
top of her lungs. “I’m going to
revive these kids! I’m going to set their poor souls free from your wretched toys!” Cindy
screamed back. I expected
mother to scream back, but instead, she dropped to her knees and her eyes
suddenly got teary. “Why? Why
must it all come to this? We could’ve been a perfect family had you all done exactly what I said ...” She said,
with her voice suddenly reduced as if she was about to cry.
“I ... can’t
believe what you’re saying ...” Replied Cindy. Her lips were pursed, her hands
were clenched into ‘fists’ at her sides, and her body was starting to shake as
well. “Don’t you
have any idea what a ‘perfect family’ actually is!? Yes! We could’ve very well been one had you properly raised
us! Had you not kept us sheltered from the outside world! Had you not KILLED us and shove our souls into
toys! You ... you’re deranged! I can’t believe you! I can’t believe you’re my
mother...” She screamed, before falling down to her knees as well. “You think I
don’t have a reason for doing all that!? I loved you all so much, you know. My
worst fear was losing you all, I couldn’t even bear that thought. That’s why I
kept you all under my supervision at all times, that’s why I ‘sheltered’ you,
and that’s why I even got into mystics and witchcraft in the first place.” “I wanted an
answer to immortality, so that we could all be together forever, and after
years of searching and experimenting, I finally found it. I figured out a spell
that could transfer the souls of the living into inanimate objects like toys!
That way, your bodies wouldn’t age, and you would be immune to pain and all
sorts of diseases! All of you could’ve been immortal! We all could’ve been
together until the very end, and yet, you all bitterly betrayed me in the end,
and forced me to live my nightmare ...” Explained mother. “But ... your
idea of a perfect family is twisted! Sure, we could’ve all been immortal, but
we wouldn’t be happy! Do you think I’m happy with this raggedy appearance!? No!
You took our lives away, both literally and figuratively, and you surpressed
us, forcing us to live without any freedom whatsoever! And now you use your own
twisted delusions as an excuse to your wrongdoings!” “And what
about all those other kids you killed, huh? Do you really think they would be
happy to be stuck in a toy’s body for an eternity, living under your
supervision at all times as a part of your ‘perfect family’ in these woods,
well, do you!?” Replied Cindy. “Mother ... I ... really tolerated all that you
did to me during my first fourteen years of life you know... while I was ...
just a little girl ... you pushed me and Max around and sheltered us from the
world, and unlike Max ... I knew all of that ... was wrong, but despite all
that ... I still loved you. I still thought of you as a mother ... until ...
you killed him in cold bold ... until you killed ... my hero ... oh ...
father.” She sobbed with her hands on her face. “Enough of
this ... you’ve all wronged me so ... If you can’t appreciate my love, then I’m
going to kill both of you right here and now. You don’t want to be stuck in a
toy’s body? Fine then, die. Both of you.” Said mother as she suddenly got up. She then
walked towards the shovel I had left on the ground earlier, and grabbed it. “Cindy ...
you hate me, and you’ve betrayed me the worst out of the whole family. You will die tonight.” Said mother as she
looked at Cindy with cold, lusterless eyes, before turning to face me. “You though
... I could still forgive you boy. Are you willing to be turned into a toy and
stay with me forever, and do whatever I say?” She asked coldly. “No ...” I
replied in a shaky voice as I shook my head. “Then ... I
will kill you first!” She screamed as she suddenly made a dash towards me. I screamed
and tried to run, but once again I found myself unable to budge. Once again, I
had been frozen in my spot. “NOOO!” Cindy
screamed before mother could reach me, and with all her might, and the large
book in hand, she lunged towards mother. “Oof!” Mother
shrieked as Cindy, using the book, slammed right into her stomach, causing her
to fall over and drop the shovel. At that
moment, I felt whatever was holding me back and causing me to freeze suddenly
disappear, and I was able to move again. “Run kiddy!
Run as fast you can! As far away-umph!” Screamed Cindy before mother wrestled
her to the ground and bashed her head in the large book. “Die you
ungrateful, stupid rag doll!” Yelled mother as she continued to harshly bash
Cindy in the head, causing her to squeal multiple times. I wanted to
run away, but after remembering everything that Cindy had done for me, I felt
like I couldn’t leave her alone. So, I
desperately looked around, trying to find a way I could help, and I quickly
noticed that the shovel was lying on the ground unoccupied, and since mother
was already busy with Cindy (who amazingly put up a fight), I wanted to make a
dash for it. Before I
could however, I heard something that made me stop. Some grunting noises,
followed by some groaning and some moaning noises, and then ... I saw them. The children,
whose graves I had dug up, were rising one by one from the graves. After
witnessing that, I looked over to my right and saw that all the toys that had
been lined up on the ground no longer had creepy eyes that followed me around,
but rather dead, expressionless eyes. Soulless eyes. They were no longer
‘dormant’, the toys were dead. Cindy did
succeed in transferring the souls after all, only it took some time for the
children to wake up. Mother was so
surprised that she immediately let go of Cindy and started to back away. Cindy used
that opportunity to make a run for the shovel, and suprsingly, with visible
effort, managed to lift it up. While mother
was still transfixed by the sight of the advancing zombie children, Cindy swung
the shovel without hestitation, hitting mother’s right leg. The sharp edge of
the shovel cut deep, causing her to fall over in pain. As she
screamed on the ground and grabbed her bleeding leg with both hands, Cindy
dashed towards the zombie children to distance herself away from mother. “You ... took
our lives away from us ...” Said one of the zombie kids. “We don’t
want to be puppets ... you must pay!” Said another one. Soon they
were all chanting, “You must pay ... give us our lives back ... you must pay
...” as they continued to advance towards mother, who was paralyzed and
bleeding on the ground. She just
looked on in horror as the zombie children began to close in on her. “It’s your
chance now, kiddy! Run!” Yelled Cindy from amidst the zombie children. Finally
knowing that she was going to be safe with all the zombie children backing her
up, I finally listened to her and made a dash towards the forest, past the work
shack and out from the clearing. Soon, I was
running as quickly as I could through the dark, tall trees of the forest, not
knowing where to go, just hoping that I would eventually make it out. It felt like
I was running for hours. I knew I hadn’t been running for that long, but with
my aching legs and tired body, it sure felt that way. I tripped a
couple of times due to the darkness and rough terrain, but I never looked back
to see exactly what I had tripped on. I just pushed through. I forced myself to push through and keep
on running. After a while
though, my body finally started to give away. I felt like I had lost control of
my legs, although they were still moving, and I was beginning to see bright
dots in my eyes. I couldn’t take it, my lungs were burning, my whole body was
sweating, even though I felt cold, and everything was getting darker, and
darker ... the last thing I saw was a mysterious orange light through the trees
in the distance. “Could it be
another forest clearing?” I thought.
Whatever it
was, I didn’t make it there. The orange light quickly turned blurry, and so did
everything else, and then ... pure darkness. I passed out. ***
“Look at this
honey, he’s finally waking up.” I heard someone say vaguely as I opened my eyes
with difficulty. As soon as my
eyes were fully open, I looked around and saw that I was in a bright bedroom I
never recognized before. I quickly
jumped up into a sitting position, and a compress cloth fell onto my lap, which
was covered by a soft blanket. I looked to
my right, and saw that there was a young handsome man with shaggy hair, bright
blue eyes and a small goatee at my bedside. “Take it easy
fella ...” He said in a friendly tone as he put the back of his hand onto my
forehead. “W-wait,
where am I? Wh-what, who?” All those questions just burst out of my lips the
moment I opened them. Before the
young man could answer, a beautiful young woman about his age entered the room.
She had bright blonde hair tied into a ponytail and she was carrying a glass of
water. “Here you go
sweetie, drink a glass of water first...” She said as she offered the glass of
water to me. I took it and
gulped it down quickly since my throat was feeling really really dry and
irritated. “Now ... we
found you last night in the forest just off the town. Me and my girlfriend here
were having a midnight picnic in one of the forest clearings when we heard a
rustling sound behind us. I was afraid it might be something dangerous, but
when I checked it out, turns it was you. Unconscious. Out there, just lying in
the woods in the middle of the night, and no one was there with you. Can you
believe that?” The young man explained. Suddenly at
that point I remembered everything. Mother, Cindy, the zombie children,
everything, but I didn’t say anything. I just groaned and held one hand up to
my head. “You slept in
our tent last night and we tended to your bruises and gave you the compress.
Then this morning, we brought you home with us. You were unconscious the whole
time, even through today. You slept through the whole day. We called a doctor
over and thankfully, he said nothing serious was wrong with you. You were just
very tired.” Said the young lady, continuing her boyfriend’s story. After a few
seconds of silence the young man asked, “Well, do you remember anything? Your
name maybe, where you came from? Or maybe your family?” I suddenly
remembered what Cindy said, and that was to make up my own name and say I’ve
forgotten everything else. “My name is
... Max ... George ... George Maxwell! That’s it ...” I answered. “George
Maxwell, right. Well, George ... do you remember anything else?” Asked the
young man again. “No.” I
answered simply as I shook my head. “Everything feels ... fuzzy.” “Oh...” Said
the man, sounding a bit disappointed. “Give him a
break dear, he just woke up from being unconscious. Just let him rest through
the night, I bet he’ll remember a lot more tomorrow morning, when we’ve given
him some time. Right now though, he probably needs some time for himself. Isn’t
that right, sweetie?” Asked the young woman with a warm smile. “Yes ...
thank you.” I replied.
“Right then
... good luck sport, and don’t be too hard on yourself, okay? We’ll talk
tomorrow.” Said the young man as he stood up and scruffled my hair. The couple
then left the bedroom and turned off the light before closing the door. I could still
vaguely hear what they were saying just outside my bedroom door though. “Honey, do
you remember the numerous reports of children going missing around the
neighborhood just off the woods. These reports have been around for about ten
years! Do you think that kid could be one of those children?” Asked the young
man. “Who know,
honey. Maybe. But I suppose we’ll find out everything in the morning, huh? We
shouldn’t think too much about it now.” Replied the young woman. I looked at
the electronic watch on my bedside table and saw that it was 11:45 p.m. Next to
the bedside table was a window with a transparent curtain covering it. It shone
brilliantly under the moonlight passing through it. As I looked
the around the dark room, I noticed that the structure of the whole bedroom was
rather similar to the bedroom I previously had, except for the numerous fancy
furnitures like a work table and a couple wardrobes. “So it’s been
a whole day after all that huh ...” I thought to myself as I pulled my blanket and laid my head back on
the soft, comfortable pillow. The bed was
so much more comfortable than the bed I had at home. So much warmer, so much
softer. Even so, with
the unbelievably comfy bed and all, I still couldn’t sleep since so much
thought were still running around in my mind. After about
an hour or so of me just tossing myself around in my bed in silence while
thinking about everything that had happened, I suddenly heard a gentle knock on
my window. One that I’ve heard before in my life. I immediately
got up and looked to over to the window, and there was an unusual ray of light
passing through the window. At first, I thought it was just the moonlight, but
upon closer investigation, I realized that the ray of light was different from
that of the moon. It was emanating from something much closer to the window. I jumped off
my bed and slowly tiptoed my way over there, and as I did, a gentle, familiar,
and warm face suddenly called, “Kiddy ...” “Huh?
C-Cindy?” I called back as I quickly dashed towards the window, opening it and
brushing the curtains aside. It was Cindy’s voice alright, but somewhat more
... airy, almost angelic. My eyes grew wide
on the mere sight of what was on the other side. “I ... I ...” I was even at a
loss for words, and that was all that I was able to say at first. A beautiful
girl with long, shimmering silver hair waving in the wind, the smoothest skin,
and bright, entrancing eyes with the most captivating eyelids, accompanied by
the warmest, most radiant smile. A smile that sent a surge of warmth through my
whole body while at the same time giving me goosebumps and making my nape hair
stand. She was
wearing a long nightgown, and her whole body was transparently glowing, and
hovering too. I looked down and saw that she hovering around twelve to thirteen
feet above the ground since my room was on the second floor. “What’s the matter silly, are you that captivated by my beauty?” She giggled
and asked in a playful manner as she hovered around and did a roll in the air
with her arms outstretched to her sides right there in front of my window. I just gulped
and blinked a few times. “C-Cindy?” I asked, just making sure. “Yes, I am Cindy. Who else?” Answered
Cindy. “I suppose I do look different from my rag doll form, huh?” I nodded, but
didn’t say a word. “H-how ...
it’s been one day hasn’t it? What about mother?” I finally managed to ask after
wiping both of my eyes. “Is she ... dead?” “Yes, it has been one day, and yes, she is dead, Max.” Answered Cindy. “Oh ...” I
replied. I was certain that I should’ve felt happy and relieved, but those
emotions didn’t hit me right away. “You’re happy though, aren’t you, kiddy? You’ve got no one else to
shelter you from this wide, beatiful world, no one to tell you exactly what to
do ... you’re free now.” Said Cindy as she swooshed up high into the air a few feet above
the window, then dove down again. “Yes. I ... I
am. It’s all thanks to you, Cindy.” I replied with a sob and a smile. “Uh huh ...” She giggled and tilted her head
to the left as she closed her eyes and once again flashed me her beautiful,
striking smile. “What ...
what’s gonna happen to you though, Cindy? You seem so happy, but ...” I
stammered, but was silenced instantly when she leaned forward and planted a
soft, icy kiss on my right cheek. I wasn’t
crying, but tears rolled down my cheeks nonetheless. “I’ll be at peace, kiddy. That’s what’s gonna happen to me. I never
lived a full life, but I used what life I had to ensure you would ... and I succeeded. I couldn’t be happier.” She whispered into my ear before retreating back outside and
hovering a few feet more above the window. I had to
stick my head out and look up to be able to see her. Her translucent body
almost blended in with the beautiful starry night above.
“Good bye, kiddy ... promise me you’ll live your life to the
fullest okay ... for me.” She said as began to drift away. I nodded.
“Hey ... Cindy ...” I called out as the tears continued to flow down my cheeks. “Yeah?” She replied. “Say hi to
the wooden man for me okay ... and to father as well ...” I sobbed. “Of course, kiddy ... it also gives me relief that after these
twelve, long, painful years, I could finally keep my other brother company
again. Well, bye bye then ... love you.” Said Cindy before
she continued to drift away ... and away ... disappearing into the starry night
above ... As soon as
she disappeared, I found myself feeling kind of sleepy all of a sudden, and as
I returned to my bed and closed my eyes, Cindy’s words rang softly like a
lullaby in my ears one final time... “You’re free now ...” © 2018 Ian Titian |
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Added on December 9, 2017 Last Updated on January 11, 2018 Tags: horror, puppets, ghosts, cult, maniac, insane, surreal, short story, thriller, psychological thriller, haunted doll AuthorIan TitianMalang, Jawa Timur, IndonesiaAboutArt is what enables our eyes to see beyond what is visible. It can captivate our souls and make us realize how beautiful and majestic the world around us is, for there is so much to be appreciated tha.. more..Writing
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